Highway16

HIGHWAY 16 NORTH PROJECT

Site Information

The Highway 16 North Project is located in Parkland County, Alberta. The project site is directly north of Highway 16 along Range Road 33. BURNCO obtained all the necessary regulatory authorizations for this project in April of 2007.

The following are a few highlights of what BURNCO has completed since the project started:

• Range Road 33 has been widened and paved from our extraction site located at NW 22-53-3-W5M to Highway 16. This was a community investment initiative of BURNCO.
• The intersection has been upgraded at Range Road 33 and Highway 16 along with the installation of a deceleration lane for traffic exiting the highway.
• Sound barrier berms have been constructed.
• Air quality and sound monitoring stations continue to monitor our operations.
• We have hauled approximately 450,000 tonnes of aggregate to the processing site.
• Our enclosed crushing plant commenced production on April 25, 2008 producing a 25-millimetre-sized wash plant feeder material. Production for this year was completed on October 24, 2008.
• Our wash plant commenced production on July 30, 2008 producing concrete aggregate from the 25 millimetre crushed material. The wash plant completed production on October 30, 2008 for 2008.

What’s Next

Alberta Environment has implemented a new Code of Practice for Pits effective November 1, 2008. An extension for the new Code has been granted until November 1, 2009.

Instead of obtaining an approval to operate the pit we currently have in place, we will now be required to register our operations according to the new Code of Practice for Pits.

BURNCO is required to update all of its operating plans for the Highway 16 North Project. With the increase in market demand since our original application was submitted in 2004, we are planning to submit an application to mine the north half of section 22-53-3-W5M. This will enable us to continue mining using a two-cut mining system.

As well, with the increase in the demand for aggregates, we require more stockpile area. We are proposing to extend the processing site in SE 16-53-3-W5M, south towards Highway 16.

Directly north of the processing site along the west side of Range Road 33 we are planning to install a gravel truck dumping system for transferring raw gravel hauled from the extraction site. The loaded belly dump trailers would drive over top of the feeder and dump into a hopper that would then convey the material into a stockpile. This system would help eliminate the need for gravel trucks with end dumps that typically have to drive up on top of the stockpiles and dump their loads, reducing the sound of closing end gates at higher elevations.

Since the existing pit has opened, we have found there are greater volumes of groundwater than originally estimated, requiring de-watering to occur off site. Currently BURNCO has a water usage licence for washing aggregate that we will need to increase for aggregate production. In order to manage the excess water on site we will apply for an approval to discharge into the existing Bellhouse water management drainage system in order to de-water the extraction site.

Our updated application for this project was submitted to the regulators on February 5, 2009.

If you would like to receive more information about the Highway 16 North Project, please sign up to receive updates here. If you have questions or comments about the project, please email us at highway16project@burnco.com

To access historical information about the original Highway 16 North Project, please click here.

Timeline

September 13, 2008 – Highway 16 Open House and Tour
September 23, 2008 – Smithfield Community Advisory Group Meeting
Location Westland Park Hall 7 to 9 p.m.
February 5, 2009 – File regulatory application

Haul Route

Map